Shan Masood says his Multan Sultans side are unconcerned by their faltering start to the Pakistan Super League, and believes early setbacks will count for little when it comes to the business end of the tournament.

Multan will meet Lahore Qalandars in the first match of a Friday double-header at 3pm at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi set to feature in the 8pm fixture.

Multan and Lahore were the two lowest-placed finishers in the competition last season, and have each suffered a troubled start to this campaign, too.

Qalandars have lost two of their first three matches, as well as seeing their captain Mohammed Hafeez ruled out because of a thumb injury.

Multan have also lost two matches, most recently when they were resoundingly beaten by Quetta Gladiators in the first of this season’s matches to be played in Sharjah, on Wednesday night. Masood is unworried, though, by the initial exchanges.

“The early stages of the competition are more about getting the combinations right, and your players finding good touch,” Masood said.

“The crucial part of the tournament comes towards the end, and you want to gain momentum leading into the final few games to qualify, and then in the eliminators you want momentum in that.

“We are not too disappointed. It is good to have setbacks early on in the tournament because it gives you the opportunity to bounce back up and come back strong.”

Masood was once considered an opener best suited to long-format cricket, but he has been given his first chance in the PSL this season on the back of strong form in the 50-over game.

Although he has yet to make a score of note, Masood says he feels at ease in the PSL.

“In all three innings, they have been decent starts, but I failed to convert them,” Masood said.

“The aim is to convert them to give the team a stable platform for the first 10 overs. It is a bit frustrating not going on and making more runs.

“But I look forward to the next game, and the good thing about this PSL is the games come thick and fast and it gives you an opportunity to get back up quickly.”

Masood is not the only left-handed Pakistan opener who will be under the spotlight on Friday afternoon. Salman Butt could be set for a PSL bow for Lahore, after being drafted in as an injury replacement for Hafeez.

“It was unfortunate to lose Hafeez, and we believe that only an experienced Pakistani player like Salman Butt can replace him,” Aaqib Javed, the Lahore coach, said of the recruitment of former Pakistan captain Butt.

Pakistan’s Test sensation Mohammad Abbas is looking forward to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), while representing Multan Sultans during the fourth edition.

In an interview with local media, Abbas spoke about the lack of opportunities during the ongoing PSL.

“The senior players in the squad deserved to get a chance before me,” said Abbas. “I’m trying my best and will perform to the best of my ability, whenever given a chance to play by the team management.”

The right-arm fast-bowler also spoke about the role played by domestic cricket, in his development as a cricketer.

“County Cricket has helped me but I will give more credit to domestic cricket in Pakistan,” he said. “Both of them have helped me grow as a cricketer.”

Abbas also spoke about his journey as a cricketer by stating: “I have gone through some tough times in the past but thankfully it all worked out for me in the end.”

He also spoke about his lacklustre performances during the past couple of Test series.

“Last couple of series did not go well but that was due to my shoulder injury,” he said. “Hopefully I will put up a better show in the next series.”

The 28-year-old was also optimistic about his chances of selection, during the upcoming 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

“I have been putting in the hard yards in order to come in reckoning for World Cup,” he said. “I will give it my best shot, if selectors give me the opportunity to represent Pakistan in the mega event.”

Not all make it through the system an into the international spotlight. There are plenty of cricketers who have continuously performed well and knocked on the doors but haven't found a way through.

It could be various factors, circumstances or just, plain luck. And Nauman Ali is one of those. The left-arm spinner has taken bucket loads of wickets on Pakistan' domestic circuit for over 11 seasons but failed to break into the National team.

Now, 32, chances of that are bleak but he continues to be a servant of Pakistan's domestic cricket. And Ali is making the most of the chance with his stint with the Multan Sultans in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Playing only his second game in this edition, Ali played his part in Sultans' six-wicket win over defending champions Islamabad United with 2-14 in Dubai.

And Ali was grateful to have got the opportunity.

"I had the confidence because of my performances. Multan Sultans were watching me (on the domestic circuit," said Ali.
"Iqbal Imam, my coach in Hyderabad, supported me and spoke to me about my performances and thanks to that I got a name for myself here," he added.

Ali, who hails from Sind, Hyderabad, has consistently scalped wickets for Khan Research Laboratories over the years.

Ali was the leading wicket taker with 17 scalps in nine matches in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup in the 2018-19 season and he also took 43 wickets in eight games in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

On his spell against Islamabad United, Ali revealed that the coach Johan Botha and captain Shoaib Malik had told them to go in with an attacking mindset.

"The coach and captain told us to bowl attackingly. They told us to try and get them all out because if you take wickets in T20 cricket, the pressure will be on the opposition. That was our plan. We wanted to put maximum pressure on them, especially in the Powerplay.

And thankfully, it worked well for us as we got three or four wickets and that put a bit of pressure on them and they got out quickly," Ali said.

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik was delighted to see talented players in the HBL PSL 4 but stressed they must be groomed and should not be hastened into the national team.

Malik, leading Multan Sultans in the HBL PSL 4, picked up Islamabad United’s Musa Khan, Quetta Gladiators’ Mohammad Hasnain and Lahore Qalandars' Haris Rauf as the talented players who have come to the fore from the latest event.

“I have seen a lot of talent, one each from Islamabad, Quetta and Lahore, and all three have been much talked about. They have good talent, but I understand if they bowl 40 to 50 overs in four or five matches, then you don’t give them an instant chance but you need to groom them,” Malik said.

He stressed they are players for the future and should play longer.

“We know they have talent, the goal is not to play them in two or three matches but the goal is to play them for 10 to 12 years. They must play more, get experience and then mature.”

Malik said his Multan Sultans needs luck to finish matches with victories.

“The team needs some luck, we have played well but not being able to cross the line to the win. We have tried most of the players, mostly teams batting second are winning but we are not getting luck,” said Malik whose side are in the relegation zone with just four points in eight games.

“Top two teams have 10 points, we have four points. As I have said, we are playing well, it also depends on other teams so where do they finish,” said Malik.

Malik said he doesn’t take pressure.

“I don’t take pressure, my goal is to handle the situation and try to be positive and that’s what I always do,” said Malik.

The HBL PSL 4 resumes in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday after a two days’ rest. Multan will play Karachi Kings in their next match and if they lose they are certainly out of the run for play-offs.

They also finished fifth and did not qualify for the play-offs last year.

With one more outing left, the expansion franchise has managed to win just two of their nine matches — both of those victories coming against defending champions Islamabad United by five and six-wicket margins.

The question is: where did it all go wrong for a team that boasted the star power of Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Andre Russell, Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan? And the answer is: a combo of player acquisition, shockingly sub-par captaincy and bad luck derailed the Multans' sophomore PSL campaign.

Composition wise, the Sultans were just relying too heavily on foreign stars in the batting department and did not have enough quality locals to complement them.

Apart from captain Shoaib Malik (44.33) and opener Umar Siddiq (26), no local player had a T20 average of over 25 for Sultans, which is why the team had a hard time in posting decent totals and chasing steep targets.

On the bowling front too, Sultans suffered due to ill-advised recruitment coupled with just as poor selection policy. It seems that they loaded up on new-ball bowlers — Junaid, Irfan and Mohammad Abbas — but went easy on specialist in the back-end of the innings. In the spin department, the team asked too much of the ageing Afridi, who, not the first time in his career and clearly because of fitness problems, could not live up to the expectations.

On the captaincy front, Malik had a shocker of a tournament. The veteran all-rounder, who not so long ago was touted as a replacement for Sarfraz Ahmed as the captain of the national team for the World Cup, was found wanting time and time again.

On a slow and turning pitch against Karachi Kings on Monday, he neither bowled a single over himself nor tried Daniel Christian, who is considered a master of bowling slower balls.

That inexplicable gaffe was almost a repeat of what he did in the match against Lahore Qalandars in Sharjah, where he did not use Christian till the final over.

These blunders used to be infrequent under Malik’s leadership before, but somehow, the old dog has learned a new trick — just not the good kind.

Luck was also not on the Sultans' side right from the onset of the tournament. They lost former Australia captain Steve Smith, one of their star picks, to an injury before a ball was bowled. The Aussie was replaced by Windies all-rounder Andre Russell but he also had to leave the team after just four matches due to international call-up.

Aside from Smith and Russell, young left-hander Nicholas Pooran from West Indies and Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Qais Ahmed could also not make it to the T20 league despite being on the Sultan's books.

Their replacements, Johnson Charles and Chris Green, featured but could not have a similar impact on the team’s performance.

The fielders did not make things any easier for the franchise. With the likes of immobile Irfan, ageing Afridi and unathletic Mohammad Abbas in the ranks, Sultan's men were arguably the worst fielding unit in the tournament.

Some would want to give the franchise a pass because they're the least experienced, faced uncertainty over ownership and so their PSL 2019 plans were naturally hatched later than others'.

There may be some merit in those excuses, and for that reason alone, the excuses would fly for now. But come 2020, when the franchise would be three-years-old, no justifications would earn the players and the coaching staff any further reprieves.

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